First Day
by sunshine.is.delicious
Summary: College AU for Mericcup. Many other characters will make appearances.
1. First Day

_First day of the last year of classes for them both, and they just happen to run into each other._

The alarm beeped. Merida squinted at the clock. Eight already? She groaned and half-rolled off the mattress. The covers came off with her as she stumbled through the bedroom door.

The freshman rooming with her now (Rachel? Rebecca? Something with an _r_ . . . and she had the most _ridiculous_ blonde hair) was already gone for her seven o'clock class, the crazy kid, and it was quiet.

She made a face and pulled out her phone. She picked something loud to play while she got ready. First day of her last year here, she thought, yanking a shirt over her wild hair. One more _blessed_ year, and she'd be off and chasing that sunset. She made a face at herself in the mirror, dribbling toothpaste.

_Here we go._

* * *

She was hurrying along the sidewalk, schedule in hand. As she checked the building number before heading through the doors, something knocked into her and sent her to the ground. Her knee hit hard and her jeans shredded, and she hissed at cold of the sidewalk and the sting of the scrape. She pushed herself up to look at the just-ripped fabric. If there was blood, she was going to—

The scrape was bleeding. And the rip was huge. These pants were _new._

She swore angrily and looked up at the flustered young man who had run into her. He was scrambling to pick up his things and was apologizing all over the place. He looked like he'd just sprinted a half mile to campus right after falling out of bed, his hair sticking up all over and his clothes wrinkled.

"Sorry, sorry—gonna be late, I'm seriously so sorry—"

It was enough to make her laugh—this ridiculous gangly person, still blinking sleep from his eyes, half gasping for breath while spewing apologies and trying to pick the papers that had exploded out of the folders he was carrying.

He looked at her, startled. She caught her breath—just for a moment, mind—at his green eyes. They were the color of the forest leaves she loved so dearly, the color of home. And all those freckles . . .

She blinked quickly and smiled at him. "It's okay. Well, sort of, but . . . you want help with those papers?" The early fall wind was sweeping them around now.

She didn't wait for a response and began running after the papers that had blown the farthest. She glanced at them as she went after some collected at the base of a tree. There were diagrams and equations and she didn't really know what it was all supposed to mean.

It didn't take too long to get them all rounded up, and as she stuffed them into one of the folders, she said, "My name's Merida, by the way."

He smiled at her accent. "Scottish, then? So's my dad. I'm Hiccup."

She snorted (her mother would be _mortified_). "Seriously?"

Now there were papers held between his teeth, so he just rolled his eyes and shrugged.

She shrugged as well and muttered, "As you like it, then."

The papers now all back in Hiccup's arms—he'd organize them later—they headed for the building at a quick pace. "I'm teaching, today, you know," he said with a bit of a frantic undertone. "That's why I was—well, I missed the alarm. Jack probably turned it off, the sh—uh, yeah, so I was running, and—"

Merida shushed him. "It's alright, I told you. What are you teaching?"

"It's sort of a specialized modern architecture and design thing. I petitioned to have it be my final project, sort of a research-discussion-teaching opportunity, and I didn't want to be _late_ on the first day . . . " He sighed. "So much for that."

She smiled and said, "It'll be fine. First day's always a bit tough, right?"

His laugh was warm and she smiled a bit wider. He reached the door and pulled it open for her, talking about how glad he was that it was the last first day for him at this school.

He was heading upstairs, so he smiled and said, "See you later, Merida!"

She waved back and watched him climb the stairs for a moment. She noticed that one of his ankles was—metal? A prosthetic?

That was a story she'd like to hear. As she walked to her class, her scraped knee forgotten, she wondered if he would want to grab a coffee and tell her about his leg and his special architecture class.

Knowing him a bit better suddenly seemed like one of the best possible things to do.


	2. Friendly Conversation

_Set a month or two after First Day. Merida comes home after a date with Hiccup. Her evening doesn't go as planned._

Merida had just gotten home. She was tired and really wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, as soon as her head hit the pillow, Rapunzel (what kind of a parent named their child _that?_) bounced into the room, flicking on the light, her eyes sparkling.

"Weeeell?" she prodded, jumping in Merida's swivel chair and scooting it close to Merida's head, pushing her curls out of the way so she could see her face.

Merida couldn't help herself. She blushed. Rapunzel squealed and twirled around in the chair. Merida couldn't help her own smile and buried her face in her pillow to hide it.

"Oh my gosh, _Merida!_" Rapunzel laughed, shaking her. "Are you not _totally_ over the moon?"

Merida groaned, hoping that if she didn't act like she felt—like she was going to float away with happiness—her bubbly roommate would leave her alone.

She knew she wouldn't, though, so she mumbled a 'yes' into her pillow. Rapunzel squealed again, throwing her arms around Merida in a tackle hug.

"Ack! Alright, _alright_—" Merida laughed. "_Ay_, I'm totally 'over the moon' or whatever it was you said."

As she sat up, Rapunzel jumped up to the foot of the bed and set her chin in her hands. When Merida hesitated to talk, she scooted a bit closer, her eyes wide and her smile wider.

Merida bit her lip and giggled a bit helplessly, feeling like a teenager. She took a deep breath to steady herself and began, "So, I met him today at the plaza—"

"What was he wearing? Did he look super nice, or was it more of the casual I'm-trying-but-trying-to-look-like-I'm-not-trying sort of thing?" Rapunzel cut in quickly.

Merida laughed. "Um, the not-trying one? Anyway, so we met there, and we just talk about our days on the way to his bike—"

"Was there laughing? That's always good, laughing. Oh! And it's super good if he's, like, just driving you around town, you know, showing you the sights or whatever," Rapunzel said, her tone urgent.

"Would you stop interrupting?" she laughed, softly throwing her pillow at Rapunzel's head. The blonde just giggled, hugging the pillow tightly as Merida continued. "Ay, there was lots of laughing and smiling and that sort of thing. The ride was fun. He's got a helmet for me now, which is darling." She paused for a moment, thinking about his goofy half smile as he held out the helmet to her, and her involuntary grin returned full force.

Rapunzel bounced up and down and threw the pillow back. "You're so _twitterpated,_ I _love it!_ I don't even have to know what you guys went and did, 'cause I just know it was so great. _But._ I do have to know one thing." She scooted close and leaned forward, lowering her voice (as if anyone were listening). "Have you guys, you know . . . _kissed_ yet?"

Merida buried her face in her pillow again. It didn't seem like it should be a big deal, not for someone her age, but Merida hadn't kissed anyone when it wasn't on a dare. No romantic stuff, no boyfriends or summer flings or whatever. She had told Rapunzel this almost entirely on accident, and she was lucky that Rapunzel was the sort of person who understood how big this would be for her.

She nodded, her face still hidden.

Rapunzel laughed and threw herself at Merida in yet another tackle hug. "Merida, I'm so _happy_ for you! I just—"

Their doorbell rang. Rapunzel eyebrows went all the way up and she bit her lip in excitement. "Oh my gosh, I bet that's him! Come on, come on, come on, up up up—" she cried, pulling on Merida until she was up on her feet. Rapunzel quickly fixed Merida's twisted shirt and fluffed up her hair a bit (like it needed any more volume), pushing her towards the front door all the while.

She looked Merida up and down and hummed excitedly. "I'll just—I'll be in my room, ok? You look great! And don't even worry about anything—you are just so great! Ok, ok, I'm gone, I promise!" she giggled, scurrying back to the bedroom/bathroom area and shutting the door behind her.

Merida rolled her eyes and smiled. Rapunzel hadn't had many friends growing up, from what she knew, and Merida had never had a roommate so enthusiastically interested in her life. It was kind of nice, but it did take some getting used to.

She looked through the peep-hole and saw shaggy brown hair and a black leather jacket. Yup, it was him. She unlocked the door and opened it with the chain still on. One eye peered out at the lanky young man on the porch "Yeees?" she creaked, doing her best impression of a witch. It _was_ October.

Hiccup laughed. Oh, mercy, his laugh was music that touched her soul. "Hey, Merida. You left your jacket at my apartment. I was just stopping by to bring it back."

She quickly undid the chain and opened the door fully, standing with her hand on her hip. "I have other jackets, you know. And you could've texted me or something." It was far too easy to act like she wasn't delighted that he came.

She felt a bit giddy as she saw his cheeks turn a bit red. "Oh. Well, yes, but I thought that . . . that is, I wanted to, ah, see you. Again."

She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Did Jack tell you to do this?" she asked. She had heard stories of one of his roommates, Jack Frost, but was yet to meet him. He sounded a bit too much like her brothers.

His shoulders slumped a bit. "Maybe? Sorry, this is—here's your jacket, I'll just go. . . " he said, turning to head back to his motorcycle.

She laughed and grabbed his hand, pulling him in. "I'm just messing with you. Come in, I'm _happy_ you came. Dear wee lamb, you are."

"'_Wee_ _lamb'_?" he cried indignantly as she shut the door, his voice rising in pitch. "Did you seriously just call me a _'dear wee lamb'?_"

"Ay," she hummed playfully, tossing her jacket on a chair. She wrapped her arms around his waist under his jacket and leaned back to look at his face. "I did. So what?"

He huffed, but his hands clasped behind her back. Her heart thrummed happily and she was fairly positive she was grinning like a loon. He was too, though, so she supposed it was all right.

"I just don't think I've ever been called a '_wee lamb._'" he muttered, his eyes running over her face. He continued, "Fishbone, yes. Scrawny, yes. A disaster waiting to happen, yes. But _never_ a baby _sheep_." He pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her forehead. She could feel him smiling as he ran one hand up and down her back.

He sighed then. "And I don't think I even care." He pulled back and beamed down at her, his beautiful green eyes shining in the darkness of the unlit front room. "Merida Dunbroch, you can call me a '_dear wee lamb_' anytime you like."

"Good," she mumbled, leaning forward to rest her head against his chest. His sweater smelled like him, and he smelled like heaven. She sighed happily and squeezed him tightly. "I plan to."


	3. New Friends

_Merida spends Halloween evening at Hiccup's apartment._

A fade to black, the title, and a final "unexpected" flashed scene of the monster. When the credits started rolling, North reached out to flip on the lights and Aster stood up to change the DVD.

Tooth was curled into a ball, her eyes huge. "Oh my gosh, you guys," she whimpered. "I don't think I can watch another one tonight. I'll be sleeping with my light on for a week as it is!"

"You're fine, sheila," Aster muttered. "They're not real, they can't hurt you, and I'm _not_ sleeping with the light on."

MK stretched and yawned. "I don't think I could watch another one, either, to be honest. I'd fall asleep partway through and have the _weirdest_ dreams." Nod poked her in the side, and she swatted away his hand and told him to stop. He stuck out his tongue. She rolled her eyes and fell back against him with a huff, arms crossed but a small smile on her face.

Sandy signed something at Nod, and North laughed loudly and slapped the shorter man's shoulder, causing Sandy to nearly fall off the couch. As Jack asked a question about which sequels were better, Merida got up to refill her and Hiccup's drinks.

She didn't really know what to think of this apartment. Six guys lived here, and it was frighteningly clean. There was almost always someone over. The setup in the main room was amazing, with comfy couches and beanbags, a fancy speaker system, a huge TV, and several gaming consoles she knew her brothers wanted. The guys were mostly seniors, excluding Jack, all graduating in June. They were also older than most, and Merida was certain there was a story behind that.

As she stood staring into the now-filled cups, Hiccup came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey," he said softly in her ear, "are you okay? I know it's a bit crowded. We can go if you want to."

She turned around to face him, a drink in each hand. "I'm fine," she said with a smile. "I was just thinking about how strange you guys are."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, the rest of his face blank.

She chuckled. "Och, my dear wee lamb," she crooned. "You know it's true. You are all a bit . . . well, odd."

He pinched her side lightly and muttered something about taking one to know one. She laughed and gave him a quick kiss. (She had discovered that she quite liked kissing him, and it usually made Hiccup pretty happy, too.) He beamed at her then, as she thought he would, and they walked back to the beanbag they had claimed earlier, "For Dunbroch!"

The conversation had turned to how Nod and MK had met over the summer. As Hiccup and Merida settled into the beanbag, Tooth turned to them and said, "So, I've heard how _you_ two met, but how did you guys actually get together? Hiccup, you can be pretty absent-minded about your social life—"

"Hey!"

"—so I doubt you were the instigator." She turned her gaze to Merida expectantly. Merida gulped. Hiccup rolled his eyes. He let his head fall back onto the beanbag and gestured for Merida to talk.

"Um, well, the next time I saw him, I just asked him if he wanted to get a coffee and chat. We sort of figured out when we had breaks and things, and we just . . . kept seeing each other around."

She was _not_ going to say anything about them meeting up between classes whenever possible.

She was _not_ going to say how she sat at the same table every Tuesday and Thursday so Hiccup could find her and they could eat lunch together.

And she was _definitely_ not going to say how much time and effort she had put into planning out those things.

Tooth hummed, smiling mischievously, and Merida had the feeling that Tooth knew exactly what she wasn't saying.

"What was your guys' first date as a couple?" MK asked curiously, swatting Nod's hands away from her shoulders. "Nod took me to a drive-in movie for ours."

Merida and Hiccup looked at each other. It was weird to her that they hadn't discussed being couple. It had just kind of _happened_.

"We did go to Zing Café a few weeks ago . . . " Hiccup said, rubbing his chin.

Merida smiled. After about a month and a half of just meeting up on campus, he had asked her if she wanted to get lunch with him. He said they could ride his to one of his favorite cafés that weekend. He had been super nonchalant about it, too, only admitting after they left the café how nervous he had been, how he'd practiced asking her in the mirror.

That had also been when he had first kissed her, leaning over the booth table after they had laughed at their ridiculous foam mustaches. Then they had come to his apartment and made excellent use of the absence of his roommates. Merida remembered it all quite vividly, and she was pretty sure he remembered it, too, however vague he was being right now.

He gave her a quick wink and grinned.

Yeah, he remembered, all right. Merida did her level best not to blush.

"I think Tink told me about Zing café!" Tooth said, scooting forward on the couch. Her tiny foot caught Aster in the side, as he was currently half stretched out on the ground. She paid no mind to his pained gasp and continued, "Is it the one run by the cute young couple, with the posters and pictures from all over the world?" She absently patted the now-coughing Aster on the back.

"Oh, I've been there." North said. "Little place, by gas station. _Magnificent_ pastries." He patted his stomach and nodded sagely. Merida couldn't help but smile. North was tall, dark, and handsome, with bright eyes and an immaculate beard, and could be quite intimidating if he wanted to be. He was absolutely ridiculous, though.

As the rest of them continued to talk about pastries and restaurants, Merida put her head against Hiccup's shoulder. He put an arm around her and squeezed gently while telling Sandy about where to get the best chocolate croissants.

She couldn't remember a Halloween she had enjoyed more than this one, surrounded by new friends.

_A/N: Thank you for reviewing, Cookiedough175! Your suggestions are great! I really hope you continue to like the story!_


	4. Story Time

_Description: Hiccup tells Merida about how he lost his leg._

Merida and Hiccup sat munching from the veggie-and-fruit double meal plate. It was warm inside Zing Café, a pleasant shelter from the sleet falling outside.

Johnny called out that their drinks were done, and Hiccup went to get them. While he was gone, Merida chewed thoughtfully on a stick of celery. He still hadn't told her about how he lost his leg, and she wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want her to know or if it was just that it hadn't been brought up yet.

He sat down, sliding her super-custom spicy dark creamy hot chocolate with whipped cream and a light dusting of chocolate shavings on top towards her. She ran a finger around the rim of the mug and casually asked, "So, how'd you lose your leg?"

His hands were suddenly incapable of holding a mug of coffee upright. He leapt up, hissing at the heat of the coffee now soaking into his shirt and pants.

Merida was _mortified._ She leapt up to grab some napkins from the utensil bar, chucking them in his direction. Johnny came out from the behind the counter to see what was going on (some other people had been startled and were now humming in sympathy).

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "Woah, man, tough luck. Here, I've got some extra stuff you can borrow . . . " Hiccup followed him back to the storage room.

Merida's face was as red as her hair. _Well,_ she thought,_ I think I'll just entirely avoid asking him about that in the future._ She mopped up the mess with the napkins and settled back down at their booth. She slowly slurped her hot chocolate, which helped her feel considerably better, but she was still embarrassed when Hiccup came back.

He was dressed in different clothes that didn't quite fit him. "Just bring 'em back when you can, bro. And I'll get you another drink, on the house," Johnny called over his shoulder as he went back to the register.

Hiccup sat, and she was surprised to see he was blushing too. There was a moment of unbearably awkward silence, and then Hiccup chuckled. "So, that was pretty, ah . . . "

Merida cleared her throat. "Ay, quite," she said, nodding. She stared intently at the chocolate shavings slowly sinking into the thick cream. She kept her hands wrapped firmly around the mug, which declared to be from Paris. It was quickly becoming the most riveting thing Merida had ever seen.

Hiccup reached across and covered her hands with his. "Hey," he said softly. "I don't mind that you asked. I was just . . . sort of startled."

She looked up at him, cheeks still pink, her eyebrows raised. "You're sure? Because—"

"_Yes_, I'm sure," he said with a smile. She relaxed just a bit and took another sip. "To be honest, I thought I'd already told you about it."

Johnny called out that Hiccup's drink was done. He was up and back quickly, and he set the mug down with exaggerated care. Merida smiled at him.

"So," he began. "The story of how I became an amputee." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, the short version of it is that I was in an accident. I don't actually remember losing it, so I suppose that's nice. Just woke up in the hospital without a leg." He said it lightly, but Merida couldn't find it in her to smile.

His expression slowly became something much more solemn than she had ever seen on him before. He leaned back against the padded booth seat and his eyes were a thousand miles away. "It's never just as simple as that, though, is it?" he murmured.

Hiccup took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He looked at her then, straight on, and began, "When I was just getting ready to head in to high school, I was 14. I had skipped a grade, so almost everyone was older and taller than me." He held out a hand to show how tall he'd been, but Merida's eyes didn't leave his face.

"I was feeling a bit out of place, and I didn't think my dad was proud of me. I didn't do sports or anything, just sort of did my own thing, which I was actually pretty happy with. But going into high school . . . I wanted more than anything to make my dad proud. So I sort of faked my way into the group of kids that I thought were coolest at my high school, thinking that if I could show my dad that I hung out with them, he'd be . . . I don't really know, but I figured it would work. I didn't know what the heck I was doing, but the kids seemed impressed by me, and I was in."

His mouth twisted. "They were bad news, but I didn't see that then. I was lucky I didn't . . . anyway. So I'm with this group of kids at lunch one day, just a few weeks into the school year, and they decide to cut class and head down to the junkyard to hang out and mess around. The 'coolest' guy in the group, Red, said his parents were out of town and that he had the van. I also knew he didn't have a license because he'd bragged about _that_ the week before. I didn't bring it up, though, and no one else seemed to mind. I just went along with it."

"So we ditch class. Some of the group went in someone else's car, a kid who actually had his license, and before I could get in, Red had put an arm around my shoulders and said I could ride shotgun in his van. The other car had left before I could do anything."

Hiccup took a long drink. Merida didn't feel like she should say anything. He folded his hands on the table, leaning forward a bit. "The junkyard was maybe two miles from the school. Three turns." His mouth twisted again. "Four stops."

"We're fine for the first bit. I mean, I was terrified, because I was pretty sure this was the second time Red had ever driven in his life. But he seemed to be doing ok, and we could see the other car turning onto the road to the junkyard down the road. And then he ran a stop sign."

He ran a hand through his hair. "He ran the stop sign and a car hit the side the van on the passenger's side. I remember looking at that car, seeing the fear in that driver's eyes . . . I woke up in the hospital a day later, missing the lower half of my calf."

He stuck his leg out of the booth and he and Merida just looked at it for a moment. You wouldn't know it wasn't the one he was born with just by looking at it, covered with denim and leather.

"All things considered," he said, tucking his leg back under the table, "I was incredibly lucky. We all were. Red got in a lot of trouble—he had some kind of drug in the van, on top of everything else, and I haven't seen or heard of him since."

"So, I woke up in the hospital, like I said, and my dad and Gobber—he's a good friend of my dad's— were both sleeping on the chairs in the room. My dad . . . Gobber told me, about a year and a half later, that he had never seen my dad go so white so fast . . . he had to pry the phone from his hand to find out what was going on, because my dad couldn't even speak." He sighed again and rubbed a hand over his face. "That's . . . my mom died because of a car accident. When my dad heard that _I'd_ been in an accident and that he needed to come to the hospital immediately, I think something broke inside of him. Gobber drove him to the hospital and stayed with him the whole time he was there . . . Gobber also told me that that was the only time he'd seen my dad cry."

Hiccup looked up at Merida. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and he swore under his breath and made to wipe it away with the sleeve of the borrowed shirt. "I didn't mean to make you cry!"

She waved his hands away and brushed it away herself. "Och, don't say that. I just . . . your poor dad. He must've been so terrified, so worried about you." Merida thought of her mother, and what would've happened if she had been in Hiccup's place.

"Yeah," he said softly. He reached across the table and grasped her hands tightly.

He suddenly smiled his most ridiculous smile, all teeth and squinted eyes. She snorted and lightly smacked his arm.

"You're an idiot," she said with a smile, picking up her drink again. He grinned and winked at her, picking up his own mug.

They finished their drinks in comfortable silence, their legs tangled up under the table.


	5. Tone of Surprise

Merida strolled along with her earbuds in and a smile on her face. Her last professor had to cancel last minute (family emergency, something about a daughter deciding to move to Africa), and she was planning to surprise Hiccup while he was busy grading things for his class. She even had some sandwiches and energy drinks in her backpack for them—he'd be busy for a while yet, and she had some homework she needed to do.

She yanked open the doors to the library. The security guard gave her a nod as she walked through the sensors, and she headed for the stairs. It was lovely and quiet and warm. She climbed to the top floor, where Hiccup's study-room-pseudo-office was. As she reached the open door, she could hear someone speaking to Hiccup.

"You know, Hiccup, ever since you left Berk, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you . . . " It was a man's voice, one she didn't know.

"_Really?_ Ah, well, I'm flattered, but—"

Merida rapped her knuckles on the door. The two men turned to look at her. "Hey," she said as innocently as could be. "Am I interrupting?"

She had never seen Hiccup look so relieved. "Hey, _sweetheart_," he said, inching out of the corner the other man had backed him into. Her eyebrows rose, but she kept her mouth shut. He gestured to the man standing close to him. "This is Dagur, an old _friend_ of mine."

The other man stared at her. He had red hair sticking out under his black beanie, and his eyes were pale and sort of frightening. He suddenly smiled and stuck his hand out to her. "Nice to meet you."

Merida, silently thanking her mother for those horrendous etiquette lessons, smiled brightly back and shook his hand firmly. "I'm Merida," she said. "Hiccup is my boyfriend."

She was almost positive she saw one of his eyes twitch. He turned to Hiccup and said, "Well, old friend, it was great to see you again." He pulled out a card (presumably with his number on it) and put it on the table. "Give me a call if you want to meet up sometime." With that, he shouldered his way past Merida and out the door.

Merida peaked out and watched to make sure he was out of range, then shut the door. Hiccup took a deep breath and fell into his chair. Then, groaning, he dropped his head onto the table. Merida chuckled and dumped her backpack on another chair. "Old lover come to win you back?" she teased, taking off her coat.

Hiccup didn't move. "Ha ha," he said flatly. "Hilarious."

She smirked and began rummaging for the food in her backpack. "No, no, I'm completely serious," she continued, tossing the paper bag on the table. "I didn't realize I might have to fight people off to keep you as a boyfriend. That's a lot of pressure to put on a girl, and, besides—"

She was cut off when Hiccup pulled her around and kissed her.

She smiled when he pulled away. His thumb touched the corner of her mouth as he smiled back. "There's not a contest to win my hand or anything, if you're wondering," he teased, kissing the tip of her nose. He hugged her tightly then, murmuring in her ear, "But if there were, I'd rig it so you'd win."

She gasped and shoved her way out of his hug. "You don't think I'd win on my own? I'll have you know I am a champion archer _and_ equestrian, with professional training in fencing and boxing. _And_ I'm deadly accurate with several different kinds of guns."

Hiccup laughed. "Well, even if you didn't win the contest, you'd definitely be able to eliminate the competition."

Merida punched his shoulder. "Just sit down and get back to work, you great idiot!" she said, stomping over to her backpack.

He laughed and followed her, wrapping her from behind in a tight hug. "You're amazing," he said into her hair. "You're the most incredible person I've ever met."

She huffed. "Well, obviously, but I'm still mad at you."

He pulled away. "Alright, alright."

Merida glanced over her shoulder and watched him head back to his chair. A brilliant idea came to her and she bit back a smile. A quick turn, and then—

"_DID YOU JUST SMACK MY_—"

"Hush, _sweetheart_. We're in a _library_."

* * *

A few hours later, Merida had finished her readings and was on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

Hiccup groaned and something thudded against the table a few times.

"Doing alright?" she asked lightly, even though she knew he wasn't.

"No," he groaned. "I've got a headache and my leg is falling asleep and this kid has the worst handwriting I've ever seen."

She smiled and said, "Your handwriting is pretty awful. Is it worse than yours?"

"Yeah, that's really not helping."

She rolled onto her side and pushed herself to her feet. "Do you want to call it day, then? You've done most of what you need to." The pile of graded essays and project sketches was stacked neatly to the side, and all that remained was a few papers from the person with bad handwriting.

He glanced at the papers to be done. Merida rolled her eyes and started packing up.

"Hey, I didn't say I was done yet," he said.

"Well, I'm done, and I'm going home to go make some dinner."

Hiccup grumbled and sank into his chair, glaring at the ungraded project sketch.

"Text if you want to come over," she said as she pulled on her coat. "Rapunzel's still on a pie kick. I could eat them all myself, but that's probably not a good idea."

Usually Hiccup would grin at her after she said something like that. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes screwed shut and said "'Kay" as she opened the door.

She didn't really know what else to do, so she threw a "see you later" over her shoulder and set off for her apartment.

* * *

Jack was in her kitchen.

Rapunzel was cutting the positively delicious-smelling apple pie, and the white-haired young man was hovering near her with a plate, chattering away.

They both turned to look at her when the screen door slammed shut. Rapunzel managed to look both extremely embarrassed and extremely pleased with herself. Jack just grinned.

"Hey! Where's your shadow?" he said.

"What, you mean Hiccup? He's still got some stuff to do and a headache or whatever," she shrugged, heading to her room.

She was surprised when Rapunzel followed her. "Hey," the blonde said. "You okay?"

Merida waved her away. "I'm fine. Go eat your pie with Frosty."

"I heard that!"

"You were meant to!"

Rapunzel smiled. "Okay. I'll bring you a slice with some ice cream, though. I know apple's your favorite!" She sashayed out.

Merida took the bowl when Rapunzel came back. "Thanks," she said. "Would you catch the door? I think I'm going to turn in a bit early."

As soon as the door clicked shut, Merida set the untouched pie on her desk and crawled into bed, grabbing a pillow and hugging it close.

Later, she was woken up by Rapunzel's soft voice. She blinked up at her big green eyes and mumbled something that might've been a question.

"Jack's gone now," Rapunzel explained. "I can talk now, if you want."

When Merida didn't say anything, Rapunzel asked, "Do you want me to go?"

Merida shook her head slowly. Rapunzel sighed. "Well, sit up for just a sec—" and she hopped up, grabbed a pillow and blanket, and pulled Merida's head down to rest on her leg. She grabbed the brush on the nightstand and began working it through the wild curls, humming gently.

After a while, Merida made a face. "I'm . . . I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to be a girlfriend. I know how to be a student, an archer, a sister . . . not a girlfriend."

Rapunzel tapped her nose. "You realize I'm probably not the person to give you advice about this, right?"

"I don't want advice. I just . . . well, I don't know. Do you think we could Google it?"

"Probably! It might end up being sketchy, though!" Rapunzel giggled.

"What, you don't trust popular opinions and oh-so-informative articles?" Merida teased, wrinkling her nose.

"Nah. I think . . . " The brush stilled for a moment. "I think it just sort of . . . happens. Every person is different, so every relationship is different. You figure it out as you go, I guess."

Merida sighed. "How come you're so much _wiser_ than me? You're at least four years younger."

"I am gifted beyond my years," Rapunzel stated with a solemn face. She kept the face as Merida laughed, but a giggle broke through when the redhead started snorting.

Merida sat up suddenly. "Hey, what was with Jack coming over?"

Rapunzel's head whipped to the clock and back. "Well, what do you know, it's time for me to—ah, do something important! Away from here!" She tried to scoot off the bed, but Merida caught her around the waist and pinned her down.

"Oh, no, lassie, you're not going _anywhere_ until you tell me what was up with you and that white-haired punk."

Rapunzel's cheeks were pink. "Nothing was _up_, he just came over for pie—"

"And how did he _know_ about there being pie?"

"Hiccup told him, I guess, but—"

"Oh ho ho, Hiccup told him about _pie_, hm? Not about the sweet-spirited lass who wouldn't turn him away? Not of the tragic beauty of the maiden locked away baking sweets for eternity?"

Rapunzel spluttered. "I'm no _tragic beauty_, and I'm not locked away, I just don't like going out with people."

Merida huffed and let her go. "What a bunch of crap. You're the nicest person I've ever met, and you're absolutely stunning, so don't even tell me there aren't guys tripping over their own feet to ask you out, and don't try telling me you don't like at least _one_ of them."

Rapunzel shoved off the bed. "It doesn't matter, okay? It's not any of your business, anyways." She had left the room before Merida could say anything more.

* * *

The next day, Rapunzel's classes went later than Merida's, so as soon as the redhead was home, she scurried about the kitchen, hunting down the ingredients she needed to make a special treat for her roommate. She ignored the buzzing of her phone on the table—she was on a warpath of confectionary goodness, and she would not be distracted from her task.

When Rapunzel walked in, resembling a marshmallow in her cold weather wear, she was greeted by a contrite-looking Merida holding a small cake on a plate. "It's a peace offering," Merida said before Rapunzel could ask. "I'm sorry I was pushy last night. It was just weird to see someone over, and to have that someone be Jack."

Rapunzel shucked her coat and took the plate. "I didn't know you baked," she said, eyeing the cake and poking it with the fork.

Merida rolled her eyes. "That's because you never leave the oven open for me, you goose. I'm not completely useless in the kitchen."

Rapunzel chuckled, then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I clammed up last night. I'm just . . . not very good with people sometimes. Or friends. Or—"

Merida held up a hand. "Just eat the cake, alright? No need to get mushy."

The blonde grinned and took a bite. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Hey, this is actually pretty good!"

"Why is it always the tone of surprise?" Merida muttered as she began cleaning up the counters.

Rapunzel laughed and sat down at the table to finish eating. "Uh, Merida, you've got at least three missed calls from Hiccup," she said. "Oh—looks like a text from him, too," she added when the phone buzzed again.

"What?" She walked over and picked up the phone. The text asked her to call when she could, and she was soon waiting for him to pick up on his end.

"Merida, you're all right!" Hiccup answered, sounding relieved.

"Um, yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I didn't see you between classes, you weren't at the table for lunch, and then you didn't answer your phone, and Jack wouldn't say if he saw you get home okay last night—"

She chuckled. "All right, all right, I'm fine, I promise! I just wanted to get home quick to make a treat for Rapunzel, and I guess I wasn't thinking about anything else."

"You can bake?"

She sighed indignantly. "_Always_ the tone of surprise. _Yes_, I can bake. _Yes_, it's edible. _No_, there wasn't any witchcraft involved. Honestly . . . "

Hiccup laughed. "Well, hey, I finally finished up the grading. Do you want to go for a ride or something?"

She smiled. "Sure, but only if you let me drive this time."

There was a pause. "Eh . . . "

"What, don't think I can steer a bike?"

"Well, no, it's just . . . I'd rather you tried it out on a different bike. Mine's all customized and gorgeous, and probably not the best to learn on."

She huffed, but she was smiling. "You're such a baby. Fine. But you're going to have to teach me sooner or later."

"You think your parents would be okay with that?"

"I'm an adult, I'm in a different country, and they'd never have to know."

"And when I have to explain to them that their beloved daughter got smeared trying to ride a motorcycle?"

" . . . That's irrelevant and not likely to happen. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"'Kay. Bye."

Rapunzel was smiling at her when she turned around.

"What?" Merida asked.

She shrugged and stood up to take to the plate to the sink. "You were all worked up for nothing last night, weren't you?"

Merida rolled her eyes and pulled on her boots. "Yeah, so?"

"Nothing," she teased, her eyes sparkling. "Have fun, be safe, all that good stuff." She grabbed her backpack and headed to her room, and Merida waited to hear the roar of Hiccup's motorcycle, a smile on her face.


End file.
